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'No. 624,3l7. Patented May 2, I899. A. S. FITCH.

GRIP FOR STRAIGHT PULL GUNS.

(Application filed Apr. 1, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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ARDEN S.

FITCH, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

GRlP FOR STRAIGHT-PULL GUNS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 624,317, dated May 2, 1899.

Application filed April 1,1899. Serial No. 711,401. (No model.)

To all whom it hefty concern:

Be it known that I, ARDEN S. FITCH, a citizen of the United States, residing in the borough of Manhattan, city of New York, county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grips for Straight-Pull Guns, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to the grip or handle which is manipulated to operate the bolt-actuating mechanism of a gun, such as a breechloading magazine-rifle, by a straight-pull movement on the exterior of the receiver at the under side thereof; and my invention consists in such a grip comprising a handle-piece composed of a frame directly connected to the bolt-actuator and projecting through and, together with said bolt-actuator, having reciprocatory play in a longitudinal slot in the under side of the receiver and transversely slotted at its central part to constitute a guard for the trigger and having on its forward side a series of transversely-extending recesses to severally receive fingers of the hand which manipulates the grip, a plate directly and rigidly connected to the rearward side of and graspable and movable with said handle-piece and covering the said slot behind said handle-piece when the grip is at Y the limit of a forward or bolt-projection movement therein and passing over the exterior of the under side of the gun-stock when the grip is moved rearwardly in its bolt-retraction movement, and a looking-lever carried by said handle-piece and having an operating-arm extending across one of said recesses in the forward side thereof and looking to notches in the receiver at the limit of the movements, respectively, of the grip in either direction in said slot, substantially as and for the purposes hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the receiver and parts of the stock of a gun and showing a grip containing my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the under side of the same, and Fig. 3 is asimilar plan showing the slot on the under side of the receiver with the grip removed.

In the gun illustrated in the drawings there as a repeater.

is indicated in broken lines a breech-bolt A, having reciprocatory movement in the receiver and provided with a tailpiece a, together with a bolt-actuator B, which also has reciprocatory movement in the receiver 011 ways Z) therein and directly engages the tailpiece of the bolt. The said bolt A and its actuatorB are similar in structure, operation, and function to the corresponding parts shown in Letters Patent No. 609,211, granted to George L. Putnam and Charles H. Farmer August 16, 1898, for bolt-guns, and it will be understood without further description that a rearward movement of the actuator B on its ways will operate to retract the bolt A in the receiver, and thereby extract a cartridgeshell from the firing-chamber and eject it in the usual manner, and that a forward movement of the actuator B on said ways will operate to project the bolt A into the breechaperture, and thereby force a cartridge into the firing-chamber and cook the gun, ready to fire.

Referring to the subject-matter of my invention, the grip for operating the reciprocatory actuator B comprises a handle-piece O, composed of a frame, as shown, which is directly and rigidly connected to and preferably is integral with said actuator B and which projects-through and has reciprocatory play in a longitudinal slot a in the under side of the receiver. Directly and rigidly connected to and preferably integral with the handlepieoe O is a plate G, extending rearwardly on the under side of the receiver therefrom and lying upon and covering said slot a behind the handle-piece when the grip is at the limit of a forward movement in said slot, as illustrated in full lines, and passing rearwardly over the under side of the stock when the grip is pulled backward, as illustrated in broken lines, Figs. 1 and 2. The plate 0 is graspable by the hand which manipulates the grip, with the palm thereof resting against the side of the receiver and the thumb thrown up over the upward side thereof in such position that the index and another or other fingers of said hand can conveniently reach forward to or beyond the forward face of said handle-piece C while the gun is held at the shoulder in firing A shoulder 0 may be formed at the rearward end of the plate 0 to give a rest or bearing for the side of the hand in the manipulation of the grip.

The handle-piece O is transversely slotted at c at its central part to constitute a guard for the trigger T, and its forward side is fashioned with recesses, one above the other, and extending transversely of the piece and pref- ,erably concave, as at 0 0 A locking-lever D is carried by the handle piece 0, preferably in its forward part, and has an operating-arm cl, which lies in and across the uppermost c of the recesses in the forward side of said handle-piece, and said lever locks not only toa notch a in the receiver when the grip is at the limit of a forward or bolt-projection movement, but also to a notch a in the receiver when the grip is at the limit of a rearward or bolt-retraction movement.

By means of the described grip not only is the slot ct entirely closed when the grip is locked in forward position, which is desirable, but also in firing the gun the index-finger of the hand which grasps the plate 0, as described, will, when the grip is thrust forward to project the bolt -into the breech-aperture and force a cartridge into the firing-chamber, naturally be extended to and over the forward side of the handle-piece O and enter the recess 0 therein, thereby manipulating the leverD to unlock it from the notch a and when the grip reaches the limit of its said forward movement and said lever locks to notch a said index-finger will be withdrawn from said recess a and may be conveniently inserted in the guard c in the handle-piece to pull the trigger, whereby the liability that the gun will be prematurely discharged is minimized, and after the gun is thus fired and while the gun is kept at the shoulder the said index-finger of the hand on the grip must necessarily be withdrawn from the trigger and carried forward to the lever D to unlock the latter in order to permit the retraction movement of the grip, so that an appreciable space of time will elapse between the instant of pulling the trigger and that of beginning the retraction of the grip and consequent opening of the breech aperture, whereby danger from a hang-fire cartridge is obviated, and when it is necessaryto apply extraordinary effort to the grip in its retraction movementas, for example, when a cartridge-shell jams in the firing-chamber and cannot be readily started therefrom by the boltan additional finger of the hand manipulating the grip may readily be placed in the lower recess 0 while the gun is kept at aim at the shoulder and the requisite force thus exerted without lowering the gun at the same time that the index-finger, as aforesaid, manipulates the lever D to unlock it from the notch a Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is.

A grip for straight-pull breech-loading guns, comprising a' handlepiece composed of a frame directly connected to the bolt-actuator and projecting through and together with said actuator having reciprocatory play in a longitudinal slot in the under side of the receiver, and transversely slotted at its central part to constitute a trigger-guard, and having on its forward side transversely-extending recesses to severally receive fingers of the hand manipulating the grip, a plate rigidly connected to the rearward side of and graspable and movable with said handle-piece and covering said slot behind the handle-piece when the grip is at the limit of a forward movement therein, and passing on the under side of the stock when the grip is rearwa'rdly moved, and a locking-lever carried by the handle-piece with an operating-arm extending across a recessin the forward side thereof, and locking to notches in the receiver at the limits of the movements, respectively, of the grip in either direction in said slot.

ARDEN S. FITCH.

\Vitnesses:

E. O. CooKE, W. BERTRAND AOKER. 

